Soviet Union: How the Mighty Fall

How the Mighty Fall

When Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov, 67, was abruptly removed as Chief of Staff and Deputy Defense Minister last September, it was widely assumed that he had fallen out of favor with the Kremlin. The first official indication of his new standing came in an obituary for Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov, which was published on Dec. 22. Ogarkov's name appeared in the tenth of 17 rows of official signatures. Said a Western diplomat in Moscow: "He must be in about a third-echelon position."

There was some speculation last fall that Ogarkov might have taken over command of the western forces of the Warsaw...